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False Memory Syndrome (Recovered Memories)

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False Memory Syndrome

Recovered Memories


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False memories are fantasies -- often therapy induced -- masquerading as memories that seem very real to the person who has such recollections.

They often involves accusations and allegations of incest, Satanic Ritual Abuse, or cult involvement.

The concept of False Memory Syndrome is not recognized as an official mental health diagnosis, but the principle that memories can be fabricated, distorted or misinterpreted (i.e. confabulation) or altered by outside influences is overwhelmingly accepted by scientists.
Elizabeth Loftus is a cognitive psychologist and a foremost expert on human memory -- particularly false memory:

Articles

Christian Christian Therapist Beware of False Memory Syndrome by Chaplain Paul G. Durbin, Diretor of Pastoral Care. Pendleton Memorial Methodist Hospital. New Orleans, La.
Secular Controversy is a constant for memory researcher Elizabeth Loftus The Orange County Register, Nov. 3, 2002. See also Elizabeth Loftus
Secular Recovered Memories and the Holocaust by Mark Pendergrast, writing about "Binjamin Wilkomirski"
Secular Recovered Memory Therapy and False Memory Syndrome (CONTRA) by John Hochman, M.D. Article from Skeptic Magazine

Books

Secular Making Monsters: False Memories, Psychotherapy, and Sexual Hysteria" by Richard Ofshe and Ethan Watters
Secular The Myth of Repressed Memory: False Memories and Allegation of Sexual Abuse by Dr. Elizabeth Loftus and Katherine Ketchum
Secular Return of the Furies - An Investigation into Recovered Memory Therapy by Hollida Wakefield and Ralph Underwager
Christian Second Thoughts by Paul Simpson. "Once a leading practitioner of Recovered Memory Therapy, Dr. Paul Simpson concludes that he had been "horrifically wrong", and that the movement has contributed to untold suffering in families where there have been false accusations of sexual abuse."
Secular The Seven Sins of Memory : How the Mind Forgets and Remembers by Lenore Terr, M.D. (Subject: How memory works
Secular Therapy's Delusions : The Myth of the Unconscious and the Exploitation of Today's Walking Worried by Ethan Watters and Richard Ofshe
Secular Witness for the Defense: The Accused, the Eyewitness and the Expert Who Puts Memory on Trial by Elizabeth Loftus and Katherine Ketcham

FAQ

Secular Frequently Asked Questions ... about the False Memory Syndrome Foundation. Good introduction to FMS issues.

News

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False Memory Syndrome (Recovered Memories)
First posted: Feb. 17, 2002
Last Updated: Jan. 16, 2010
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